Broken Reflections
by Angel Barton
Summary: The final scenes of Gundam W have come to a close. But what if the story had changed? What if Heero had never met Relena on that beach? What if there had been more than 5 gundams? And what if there was someone else watching, waiting...
1. First Glance

Broken Reflections by Angel Barton

**Broken Reflections by Angel Barton******

** **

**• Intro •**

With high expectations, human beings leave Earth to begin a new life in space colonies.However, the United Earth Sphere Alliance gains great military powers and soon seizes control of one colony after another, in the name of justice and peace.The year is After Colony 195, Operation Meteor.In a move to counter the Alliance's tyranny, rebel citizens of certain colonies scheme to bring new arsenals to Earth, disguising them as shooting stars.However, the Alliance headquarters catches on to this operation…

Almost simultaneously, five pods launched from Colonies L-1, L-2, L-3, L-4, and L-5 and jetted towards the Earth, surrounded by a trail of red light.

As the five young men hurtled to Earth to bet their lives against fate, a shadowy figure smiled grimly in the darkness of the cockpit of yet another Earth-bound vessel._The Alliance Military is only expecting five Gundams, providing me with the perfect opportunity to slip through their defense lines unnoticed, thanks to the cloaking system installed in this pod.Too bad the others won't be so lucky.Oh well.If they're not ready to run with the big dogs, they shouldn't have come to play._

_ _

• **Chapter One:**First Glance •

Heero Yuy watched as the sun shot its blinding rays over the curved edge of the Earth."All areas functioning.Will commence operations in seven minutes."A dark haired boy of 15 with Prussian blue eyes, he was coldly calculated and focused solely on his mission.That is, until a blip flashed on one of his screens."A civilian shuttle…" he muttered aloud.

What he didn't know was that this particular shuttle was carrying more than just civilians.Onboard were Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian and his daughter, Relena, who were returning from a diplomatic conference in the colonies.But even if Heero had known, it would have made no difference.

"Relative speed to target: zero-five-one-five.Engaging autolock.Ready to shoot the obstacle down," he intoned in an emotionless voice.His finger moved over to the trigger on the stick in front of him.

He stopped as yet another monitor flashed a warning."The Alliance is already onto me," he said, allowing a bit of disbelief into his voice."Blast it!"

Heero turned back to look at the screen before him.The blue, green, and white swirls of the approaching planet filled his view."I'm finally here.I made it to the Earth."He glanced back at the civilian ship._They've seen me.Even if they don't know what I am, they've seen me.They mustn't be allowed to live._

_He swung his craft around to bring the shuttle directly into his sights.As he pushed the firing mechanism, he was tossed forcefully to the side by shots from the military shuttle.His salvo hit off its mark, exploding against one of the defenseless craft's engines.The ship swerved off its course, the ruined engine spewing a trail of smoke and escaping fumes._

Heero let it go.He rapidly punched a series of buttons that resulted in several small explosions that broke the entry pod away from his vehicle, revealing a blue, red, and white craft reminiscent of a fighter plane.The remaining shuttle didn't follow up its first volley, no doubt surprised by the events that had just transpired.

Heero adjusted his course to evade pursuit of the other craft."I'll escape, no prob," he said without a trace of doubt.His attention was drawn by a hailing beep of another screen."Alternate mission?" he wondered audibly."That carrier is carrying OZ Mobile Suits."He turned to glance at one of the technical readouts displayed on one of his cockpit consoles."Judging by their speed there's probably three suits on board."

Heero pulled back on the stick, flipping his craft over."Roger that, mission.I'll return right now to shoot down the OZ carrier."

Inside the transport, the pilot turned to the vehicle's sole passenger in the cockpit."Enemy fighter has turned around and is heading right for us," he reported to the man, who was clad in a red military jacket, white breeches, and tall black boots.

Lieutenant Zechs Merquise stood and opened the door leading to the cargo hold."Is Leo ready for use," he asked, peering at the ship's copilot through the eye holes of the mask that covered the upper portion of his face.

"Yes, but you're going after him with a mobile suit?" queried the young man.

"You guessed it," replied Zechs.

"Then wouldn't the Aries lightspeed Mobile Suit be better than the Leo 

ground-battle Mobile Suit?" he suggested.

"My Leo is plenty fast enough," Zechs replied, a hint of contempt seeping into his voice."Besides, if it's a fight he wants, I should at least give him my best."

A moment later, the rear hatch opened.Zechs dropped his Leo out the back as he acknowledged the pilot's promise of backup as soon as the Aries were ready.

Zechs's head snapped around as a warning sounded in his cockpit."What?He's above!"He deftly rolled his suit around to face the oncoming enemy and let loose a round from the suit's massive gun.The enemy craft dodged the shot and streaked past him.The lieutenant turned his suit to follow his attacker and released another shot.This one found its target.

Inside the cockpit, Heero fought to control the shaking that had ensued after the Leo had landed a hit."Left drive system malfunctioning.He's good."He allowed his craft to plummet towards Earth, wanting the pilots of the Leo and the two Aries that had joined the fray believe his ship to be disabled.

After a few moments, the ruse was put to an end as he pushed an overhead handle forward in his cockpit.Immediately, his fighter began to shift and change until it had fully transformed into a Mobile Suit complete with a huge gun and shield._Wing Gundam, thought Heero.__All the weapon I'll ever need.As he expected, the three pilots were too amazed to immediately blast him.He glanced at his sensors and watched as the two Aries followed his dive and the Leo's pilot activated a chute to stop his fall.Almostat once, the pair of pursuing suits released a hail of fire in his direction._

Heero rolled his suit up to face the Aries and unleashed an enormous blast from the buster rifle he carried.He laughed maniacally as both crafts exploded in clouds of flame and shrapnel."One more to go."

He watched as the Leo jettisoned the parachute and fell towards him.He discharged another round at the green suit, which was able to dodge the blast.The Leo's pilot ignited the energy sword it carried and swung it at his suit.Heero brought the suit's gigantic hand up to grasp the Leo's wrist.The Leo's pilot entangled his suit's limbs into those of Wing and opened the Leo's hatch.

Zech's climbed out of his cockpit and jumped clear of the two suits.He was jerked upward as he pulled his parachute's release cord and the wind caught strongly beneath the fabric.

"Lieutenant Zechs, are you all right?" asked the shuttle's copilot.

"Yeah, sorry to worry you."He stared after the plummeting suits."I did everything I could."

"We have a complete data analysis," the young man stated."Judging by the strength of the Mobile Suit, it could only be made from gundanium alloy."

"So that was a Gundam," he said as the formidable suit, along with the Leo, crashed into the water below."The Mobile Suit might be undamaged, but that reckless pilot won't have survived."

After a moment, the copilot stated, "Lieutenant, the marina mothership is offering to bring up the unregistered Mobile Suit.

Zechs looked up at the shuttle overhead through his blowing white-blonde hair."Let them do as they wish.Tell the it sank in the JAP point of the Asia area.

"Yes sir," came the response.

"They offered to bring it up?" he said to himself, his voice dripping with disdain."Ha!There is no bright future for soldiers scurrying to for their reward."

Far below him, the two suits plunged through the dark water into blackness.

• • •

Meanwhile on Earth, the buildings housing an Alliance Mobile Suit manufacturing plant were rocked by a sudden explosion.

A Leo turned as its pilot asked, "Are we under attack?"He received his answer as a glowing blade of energy sliced through his Mobile Suit, exploding it.Another nearby suit met the same fate. 

Illuminated by the flames spewing from the demolished metal carcasses, a black and white Gundam stepped into view, brandishing a giant scythe who's blade was made of greenish, crackling thermal energy.The Mobile Suit's weapon sliced easily through the factory's machinery.'

Inside the cockpit, his face lit by eerily glowing computer monitors, sat the pilot of the Gundam Deathscythe."This is Duo here!I've destroyed the main monitor.Now I just have to slice my way out of this battle!"

• • •

"This is the Dover Base reporting.We're under sudden enemy attack!" said one of the pilots in the huge defense line of Leo and Tragos Mobile Suits.

"Sudden enemy attack?Who's attacking?" came the response.

The base's pilots continued their hail of fire as a white and red Mobile Suit of a type they had never seen walked into view.

"I don't know."

The strange suit raised the colossal machine gun built onto its left arm and released barrage of bullets at its attackers.

Within the cockpit of the new machine was the pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms.A young boy of 15, he sat with his eyes closed, his face half covered by his mustard brown hair."Now that you've seen me, I can't let you survive.The mission was to destroy just the spaceport," he said forcefully.His eyes opened to reveal orbs of dark green."But I'll demolish everything!"

He unleashed a massive salvo of missiles and bullets that practically leveled one of the nearby buildings.

"This is battle zero-zero-one," he said aloud."Pilot's name: Trowa… for the record." 

• • •

"You're sure the rebel capsule fell in this area, are you?" asked the search squad's captain, staring out at the rolling waves of sand.

"Yes sir!" replied one of his soldiers.

"But there's nothing here!" he yelled in frustration.

As he spoke, forty desert-colored Mobile Suits rose from their hiding places beneath the burning sand.

"Attack!" came the command.At once, the new troops opened fire on the company of Leos.

"What is this?What's happening?" shouted the captain.

"Enemy attack!Enemy attack!" was the frantic reply from the soldier who had spoken to him earlier.

The captain watched as three of his suits were blown apart.He, along with the remaining Leo, turned and slid down the side of a sand dune."We're surrounded!Who are they?!"he roared. 

"Captain!"His companion's anxious response echoed in the leader's cockpit.

He turned his Leo in the direction the soldier was looking."What on Earth?!"

Standing before him were more of the brown and tan enemy suits.He was even more surprised to see an enormous white and black Mobile Suit leading them.

"Give up your weapons and surrender… and I'll spare your lives," the strange suit's pilot said.

The captain was enraged at this."Fire!" was his furious answer.

As both he and his comrade opened fire on the enemy, the unidentified suit flew forward and, before either of the Leo's pilots could respond, sliced both suits clean through with a pair of twin curved blades.

"Quatre reporting," said the small blonde boy inside the cockpit of the Gundam Sandrock."I've destroyed the leader."He lifted the pair of goggles from his blue eyes, which were filled with sorrow."I told you, you should have surrendered."

• • •

Meanwhile, on the Yangtse River, several ships floated in burning heaps.There was suddenly a huge explosion on one.Lit by the backdrop of flames licking the sky, a large red, blue, and white mobile suit stood calmly in the middle of the destruction.It raised it's right arm, whose hand resembled the head of a mythical dragon, and extended it's entire limb to send the dragon crashing through the metal of the ship's bridge.Overhead, two jets roared across the dark sky.The strange suit looked up and retracted it's arm.It then proceeded to shoot two streams of fire at the aircraft above it.The two planes exploded in fiery balls of light.

As the ship the suit was standing on began to sink into the water, the pilot of the Gundam Shenglong was strangely tranquil."My name's Wufei," said the young Chinese boy."I'm not hiding from anyone.This battle will be over in no time."

• • •

"You're saying that three of your Mobile Suits were shot down?" 

"Yes sir," replied Lieutenant Zechs.

Trieze Khushrenada looked away from the opera he had been watching to glance at the video screen before him."And what about the shuttle?"

"It was damaged in the fight, but it was able to divert to another spaceport and land safely," was the response.

"It's unlike you to be so careless.It will be quite an effort to try and calm down the Alliance bigshots," replied Trieze.

Zechs didn't look a bit chagrined."We were up against a Mobile Suit made of gundanium."

"You're joking," Trieze said, although he knew his old friend was not one for jokes.

"It's true," countered the lieutenant."Just imagine if it was made by the colonies."

Trieze leaned back in his chair and folded his white-gloved hands under his chin."Something like this would never have happened if you and I had been here in OZ fifteen years ago, that much is certain."

"Gundams are on Earth,"said Zechs.

"Can't imagine otherwise.Alliance surveillance was far from being efficient," Trieze voiced.

Zechs looked back at him."The Alliance marina is on their way to gather the evidence."

"All right, leave that business to my men.I'll send in my specialist in undersea searches, then you can take it from there, Zechs," said Trieze calmly.

"Right," he answered.

" I'm sure you're aware, but this is an important period. Do not do anything that would anger the Alliance."He knew his friend would not let him down, but he felt that a warning was necessary just the same.

"I fully understand," said Zechs as the transmission ended.

• • •

Scanning the data scrolling down the screen, the mysterious stranger frowned in displeasure._Humph.Out of all of them, I thought Wing's pilot would have been the least likely to have gotten himself into trouble.But it seems he's gone and crashed himself into the waters off Eurasia.Sighing contemptuously, the figure switched off the computer and stared out over the vast expanse of desert._

_I'll take care of it tomorrow."Mission accepted."_


	2. Enter the Outsider

Broken Reflections by Angel Barton

**Broken Reflections by Angel Barton******

** **

**• Chapter Two:Enter the Outsider •**

Heero awoke with a start.He was lying face down on a sandy strip of beach, the waves lightly lapping his feet._How long have I been out? he wondered.Grunting, he hauled himself to his feet.As he removed his helmet, he turned to look out at the endless stretch of ocean behind him.__The enemy will be out there soon, searching for Wing.Well, they won't get it.He shifted his eyes to his right, scanning the buildings farther down thecoast before allowing his gaze to fall on the Alliance marina.__I'll bet they have something I can use._

As a plan began to form in his mind, he swiftly stripped off his space suit, leaving him clad in a green tank top, black spandex shorts, and yellow high top sneakers.After burying his suit in the warm sand, he turned and climbed up the steps to the road above.He glanced around till he found the very thing he was looking for.Walking briskly to the pay phone, he snatched the phone book from its shelf and thumbed through it till he located the listing he desired.He memorized the address and tore out the map in the back of the book.Taking a glance at it, Heero shoved the map in his pocket and began walking down the road towards his next objective.

• • •

An hour later, Heero shoved open the heavy oak door of the public library.As he walked past the secretary at the front desk, he spotted the very thing he needed.Striding purposely towards the row of computers, he ignored the curious glances in his direction, obviously inspired due to his unusual outfit.

He chose the terminal farthest from the prying eyes of the resident bookworms._It's a good thing that barely anyone is here.Otherwise, I might be finding myself having to eliminate some unwanted obstacles.Slipping the encoded disk he carried out of his pocket and into the awaiting disk drive, he entered his password into the system and quickly typed through the disk's programmed security barriers.At last, thanks to the computer's Internet capabilities and a brief, untraceable satellite relay, he tapped into the computers at Mission Control._

Almost immediately, his new mission parameters displayed themselves on the screen.Scanning the new information, he laughed inwardly. _This will destroy it for sure, he thought as a computer diagram of the tools he needed to compete his mission appeared on he screen.__.Deep water torpedoes, guiding functions installed.Stored at the marina weapons warehouse, that's not far.Perfect.Moving his fingers rapidly over the keyboard, he keyed in his response._

_Mission accepted._

• • •__

Heero smiled grimly behind the wheel of his "borrowed" vehicle.He still clearly remembered the shocked look on the man's face as Heero had flung open the driver's door and dragged him out of his seat.He had left the man lying stunned in the library parking lot as he sped towards the base._At this rate, he thought, __I'll be there in plenty of time._

• • •

_Jeeze, what luck, thought Peters.__I get stuck pulling sub upkeep duty while I should be out there chasing after those rebels and their new Mobile Suits."This bites," he muttered audibly._

"I hear ya," said the man at the control board, checking the electronic equipment."But who knows?Maybe we'll get to see some action someday before we die of old age."

Peters chuckled in response.He jerked around as he heard the creak of the hatch being opened."What the…!" he yelled as a small metal cylinder dropped through he open hatch and clanked noisily against the steel floor.

Seconds later, a small blast rocked the sub.Presently, a thin turret rose out of the submarine rose into sight, carrying a single passenger.Heero looked out over the harbor, showing no sign ofemotion over the men's deaths.He looked to his right, where a stack of three torpedoes was being lifted into the air slightly above and away from the moored submarine.Silently, he turned back to the control panel that had risen out of the tower and began programming the torpedoes.

He stiffened slightly as he heard the sound of feet running down the boarding ramp."What's going on here?Who are you?"Heero allowed himself a quick glance over his shoulder.Standing behind him was a young unarmed woman sporting a outfit suited to that of a secretary._Blast.I had hoped no one had noticed me, he thought,__But it seems I let my guard down.Still, his mission guidelines had been clear.Destroy Wing Gundam and eliminate all obstacles.He felt no pity for the young secretary as he reached for his gun._

"Hey!I'm talking to you!"The woman's eyes widened considerably as Heero spun around and leveled his gun at her chest."You're in over your head," he said emotionlessly."Say goodbye."

A shot rang out from behind Heero.He turned just as the bullet struck him in his unprotected right shoulder.The gun fell from his fingers as he flew through the air to land forcefully against the deck.The woman gaped at the figure standing at the bow of the submarine."What's happening?!" she asked frantically as Heero, holding his hand over his wound, looked angrily at the stranger and said, "Who are you?"

"It's pretty obvious to anybody that you're the enemy here, pal," said the newcomer, staring pointedly at the glowering Heero.

Duo had no idea whatsoever as to what was going on, but he knew a damsel in distress when he saw one._I always considered myselfa knight in shining armor, he thought. __Or would that be gundanium?_

Sparing a glance at the woman, he saw her look him up and down with a mixture of relief and confusion.He knew how strange he must have looked.A 15 year old kid with cobalt blue eyes, clad all in black, except for the small square of white peeking through the gap in the collar of his preacher shirt and the rolled-up sleeves just above his elbows.A black cap and a rope of braided chestnut hair completed the unusual ensemble.Standing with his feet braced apart and an automatic pistol leveled before him, he was sure the woman was wondering if she should thank him or run for the hills.

It turned out she chose the latter.Duo cursed as the foolish girl ran straight between him and his target in her frantic attempt to escape, giving the downed guy a chance to retrieve his weapon."Move!" he yelled in frustration.As the fleeing woman cleared his sights, he swore inwardly as he found his enemy swinging himself up out of a crouch, intending to put Duo right in his sights.

Before Duo could let off another round, a shot broke the silence and, to Duo's surprise, knocked the weapon from his adversary's grasp.The following bullet struck the guy in the side of the head.Duo gasped in astonishment as his foe dropped limply to the deck.Searching for the source of the shots, he turned to catch a glimpse of a dark figure standing in the shadows of the raised portion of the sub.

"What the…" he murmured.He was startled to hear the alarm go off on his watch."It's already reached the surface.I must have miscalculated the depth," he said, averting his eyes from the stranger to glance at hiswrist.Taking his attention off the mysterious stranger proved to be a mistake, however.Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of movement.To his amazement, the stranger executed a perfect double flip to land lightly on the deck a few feet in front of him.

"Hey!Don't move!"Duo brought his gun to bear on the stranger just as the person sprang into a run in the direction of a suspended stack of torpedoes.He let off several rounds as the figure leapt towards the hanging explosives.The stranger faltered slightly as he climbed towards the top warhead._Ha!Got 'im, Duo thought jubilantly.His happiness evaporated as the crazy stranger slammed his fist down onto the launch button on the topmost torpedo._

Instantly, the entire pile of explosives shot out towards open water and, to Duo's horror, his surfaced Gundam and the one he had salvaged from the ocean floor."What are you doing you fool?!" he shouted.As the stranger flew backwards off the high-speed weapons to hit the water with bone-crushing force, the torpedoes sped on to hit the two Gundams with enormous power. 

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!"Duo's scream echoed as the two Mobile Suits sank beneath the waves in a towering pillar of water.

"Oh man!That guy knows gundanium's impact tolerance," he said.Looking at the still figure lying face down in the water below him, he caught his first partial glimpse of his enemy._No wonder he blended into those shadows so well.The stranger, clad in a loose-fitting black jumpsuit and a black cap, which had miraculously managed to stay on, could have melted into any dark spot.Considering the events that had transpired only moments before, he reached the conclusion that one of the two unconscious people had to be the salvaged Gundam's pilot.__But which one? he wondered._

Duo looked at the guy lying on the sub deck.The bleeding on his head was beginning to slow, but it still looked like it required medical attention.He walked over to the prone body and, grunting, slung him over his shoulder._Well, maybe I'll get some answers out of this guy.He glanced once more at the inanimate form floating below him.__I'll be seeing you later.___


	3. Liberation

Broken Reflections by Angel Barton

**Broken Reflections****by Angel Barton******

** **

**• Chapter Three:Liberation •**

"Howard.Hey, Howard!" yelled Duo."I could use some help over here!"At his call, a middle-aged man with gray hair, sunglasses, and a rather loud Hawaiian shirt suck his head out of a door farther down the steel corridor.

"Hey Duo.Whatdaya got there?" questioned the engineer.

"Some guy I got in a bit of a tussle with.Don't ask, it's a long story.The short of it is this guy's got a shot wound on his head that needs to be looked at, along with an arm injury,"said Duo, looking expectantly at Howard.

"Hey, you know just as much as I do, probably more.But bring him in here.I'll see what I can do," said Howard, motioning to the door across the hall from the room he had appeared from.

Once inside, Duo was more than happy to deposit his load on a vacant cot.He stepped back as the older man began checking the boy's wounds.Leaning against the wall, Duo rubbed his shoulder absently as he wondered about the whereabouts of the other stranger._Alliance personnel must have picked him up by now.They've probably got him held in Alliance's medical building.I might just have to pay him a visit._

"Duo, you said this was a shot wound?"Howard questioned.The braided boy pushed himself off the wall to look at the small, bloody furrow on the left side of the boy's head."Yeah.What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's a minor wound.But…" the older man paused, looking thoughtful. "Where were you standing?"

"Me?" asked Duo."I didn't shoot him.Well, if you don't count the hole in his arm," he said, grinning slightly.

"Okay, then where was the shooter standing?"

Duo wracked his brain."Above and slightly behind and to the right of me, about 75 or 100 feet from this guy, who was moving at the time."

Howard let out a long, low whistle."It would have taken a hell of a marksman to hit this guy just enough to knock him out without causing any major damage.Unless he meant to kill him and missed.Still, even from such a close range…"Howard shook his head in disbelief."Well, I'll go get some bandages and antiseptic.Stay here in case he wakes up."

Duo watched as Howard walked out the door._He's just exaggerating, he thought.But as he replayed the events over in his head, he realized just how hard it must have been to make that shot, especially with a moving target.__Unless Howard's right about him missing.He shook his head as he remembered the boy's gun being shot out of his hand.__I don't think we're dealing with a guy who misses, though.Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared at the wall in front of him.__Just who is that guy? he thought._

• • •

"Yeah, that'll do.Also, both of the pull carts are broken, so I'd like you to have my lunch ready in the back of the wheat field.Thanks, I'll help you thresh the wheat later."

Hanging up the phone, Duo turned to look up at the towering building before him. "Now, I should go visit that patient."

In a bright, sterile white room on the 50th floor of the Alliance Military's Number Three Medical Building, the very person Duo spoke of lay strapped to a medical examination table, unconscious, or so it seemed to Sally Po and her assistant monitoring their patient.Looking over the data on the screen in front of her, Sally sighed."Over 200 bruises and broken bones shot wound to the left arm, and a possible concussion.The kid's lucky."

"Yeah," her companion replied absently.He stiffened as he caught a glimpse of motion in the room below the observation window."Huh?"

"What is it?" Sally asked, following his gaze to the still figure on the table.

"Nothing.I thought I saw something move.Guess it was just my imagination." He turned back to the monitors.There was no telltale blip in the vitals that would signal the patient's return to consciousness.Sally turned in response to the hailing beep of the video monitor.

So intent was she in her conversation and her assistant in his medical report, neither noticed as their patient's eyes opened alertly and bound arms strained against their restraints.

As the captive figure struggled to get free, a video monitor turned on near the head of the table.The stranger watched as Duo's face appeared on the screen with a finger to his lips.The figure complied to the command as the braided boy's lips began to move silently.

Duo stood with his hands splayed on either side of the monitor in the control room next door.The technician who had previously occupied the room lay sprawled in an undignified heap against the wall.Duo looked at the stranger on the screen before him.

_Wow, he thought.__He looks pretty beat up.Still clad in the jumpsuit, the person's head was swathed in white bandages, allowing Duo to see only the guys right eye, nose, and mouth.Any hair that he had lay underneath the wrappings.His left arm was also bandaged just above the elbow.__Hmm, must be where I hit him._

"I'm sure a talented guy like you would be able to read my lips," said Duo, smirking."Well can you?"The shrouded face turned away from him."You're acting is just amazing," said Duo with genuine awe in his voice."You've managed to regain consciousness without increasing your pulse or your brain waves."Now, more than ever, he wanted to know just who was under those bandages."I've got a fewquestions I'd like to ask you.If you're feeling up to it, I thought I'd help you break outta here."

A moment later, an explosion rocked the building.Duo stepped through the resulting opening._Gotta love those instant doors, he thought cheerfully.Moving quickly, he reached the edge of the examination table.Looking the ties restraining the person, Duo muttered, "Man, how do you get these things off."Whipping out his knife, Duo easily sliced through the bonds.He shoved the extra pack he was carrying at the person, who nodded and slipped into the parachute.Together they ran through the gaping hole in the plaster wall, past the motionless technician, and out into the adjoining hallway._

Duo smiled crazily as he spotted just the thing they needed.Ahead of them was an expansive, open room whose entire outer wall was composed of large picture windows.Reaching into the pack on his back, he pulled out a small explosive and hurled it at a window, throwing himself to the ground in the process.His companion followed suit.

The window exploded in a shower of glass and concrete.The two jumped to their feet, the ringing of the blast still in their ears.They ran headlong for the open portal and leaped out into nothingness.Duo flipped himself over in midair and activated the helicopter-like blade of green energy built into the end of the metal shaft he had attached to his forearm.He held his breath as the plummeting figure below him tugged on the cute release cord.Nothing happened. 

"Damn!"he said.Shouting as loud as he could, he yelled, "Pull the reserve!"To himself he muttered, "Oh man, I'm gonna have nightmares about this one!"He could only watch in horror as his companion struggled to reach the release handle.As the smaller chute finally deployed, his heart sank._It's too late, he thought grimly._

His fears were confirmed as the figure slammed into the side of the steep cliff below.Luckily the guy had enough sense to release the straps on his chute in time to avoid becoming entangled in the fabric and ropes.After long tumble down the rocky grade, the stranger finally rolled to a stop on the sandy beach at the base of the cliff.

Duo landed lightly switched off his propeller, and walked over to the guy.He watched in amazement as the guy stood slowly, apparently uninjured despite his rough spill.However, as he got nearer, it became clear to Duo that his rescuee was favoring his right leg.Stepping close, he reached for the stranger's arm and draped it over his shoulder.The injured person turned his head away, showing his reluctance to accepting his rescuer's help.

"Look, I'm not askingyou to trust me or anything," said Duo, "but right now, I'm the only friend you've got."His companion remained silent as the pair began walking towards the road.

• • • 

Duo looked on as he, with the help of a rather large crane, pulled the red, blue, and white Gundam.The suit's pilot, the brooding, dark-haired boy he had brought back earlier stood alongside him, watching the salvaging operation intently.Duo had already retrieved his own Gundam from the ocean floor where the two suits had come to rest after that crazy guy had sunk them.

"I still don't know what you think you were doing, launching those torpedoes at Mobile Suits that didn't even belong to you," said Duo, turning to look over his shoulder at the stranger he had rescued."Huh?What's he doing?" he wondered out loud.At this, the other boy turned to look.

The strangerwas lying on his back, bandages and all, hands gripping his right leg above the knee.Grunting in pain, the guy rolled back and forth until Duo heard a sickening crack._Guess I don't have to worry about his broken leg anymore."Geeze, you could have at least waited till we got you some anesthesia or something," he quipped."That just totally grossed me out."He and the other boy watched as the stranger bandaged a wrench to his leg for a brace.Then, for the first time, Duo noticed an rather large bulge underneath the bandages on the back of the guy's head.__Huh, must be an ice pack or something._

The boy began to slowly unwrap the bandages covering his head.Looking on, Duo was anxious to finally see the face of this mysterious guy.

The boy tilted his head down slightly as he removed the dressings from his face.Duo gasped in surprise as the bandages slipped off the boy's head, releasing a cascade of brown hair.As the guy looked up at Duo and his companion, an expression of shock flooded the boys' features, more so Duo's than his stoic friend.

Sky blue eyes, set in a soft face with an elegant nose and full lips framed by gracefully curving bangs, looked steadily at Duo and Heero.

"Not quite what you were expecting, huh?" she said.


	4. Eyes from the Past

Broken Reflections by Angel Barton

**Broken Reflections by Angel Barton******

** **

**• Chapter Four:Eyes From the Past •**

"You're a… a girl!"stammered Duo.He gawked at the person before him, wondering how he had missed seeing it before._The shadows, her hair tucked in her cap, the wrappings covering her face, the loose jumpsuit masking her curves.Duo realized he hadn't even heard her talk.__No wonder I mistook her for a guy. Grinning, he realized that no one who looked at her now would mistake her for a member of the opposite sex.He took in every detail of her face, letting his eyes meet her resolute azure orbs._

She fixed the boys with a frigid glare, apparently undeterred by their open stares."Is there a problem?" she asked.

"N-no," Duo stuttered, slightly taken aback by the apathetic tone of her voice.It didn't seem quite right to him.A girl as pretty as she was should have a pleasant, melodic voice, not the utterance void of feeling he had just heard."I just thought you were a guy."He mentally kicked himself for not being able to salvage enough of his wits to come back with a snappy reply."Um, back to my earlier question.Why in the world did you launch those torpedoes?"

"I had my orders," she replied evenly."We can talk later.Do you mind if I take a shower first?"

"Uh, no.Go right ahead," said Duo."Go through that door into the main hallway.Showers are in the fourth room on the left," he said, pointing her in the right direction.

Nodding, she turned to leave."Hey, do you need some clothes or something?" he asked as she opened the door.

"I have something on under this," she answered, walking through the door to the walkway beyond.

Grinning slyly, Duo turned to the boy next to him who, to his amusement, was still staring after the girl."Man, she's hot," said the braided boy, shaking his head as he walked back tothe control booth of the crane.

Heero still stood where he was, gazing at the opened doorway.Although he hadn't let it show, he was almost as shocked as his annoyingly talkative host._That guy is right.She is__ beautiful.But there's something else about her.It's almost as if I know her…_

• • • 

Half an hour later, the same thought was still echoing through Heero's head as he stared into the dark liquid in front of him.

Duo sighed.He had been sitting that way ever since they had retired to the small closet that Duo and the rest of the crew considered a lounge.He hadn't even taken a sip of the coffee Duo had given him.He just leaned forward, fingers wrapped around the white porcelain mug, letting the steam waft eerily around his dark features.

Duo regarded him steadily from his position across the small room._I wish I at least knew his name, he thought.He reflected back on the conversation he had tried to start when his "guest" had first woken up._

_"Hey, how are you feelin'?" Duo asked cheerily._

_Silence._

_"Okay, what's your name?" he ventured.The boy shot him a hard glare._

_"Sheesh, are you always like this, or did that shot to the head leave you_

_mute?" he asked, grinning._

_The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back, sprawled across the_

_metal floor._

_Duo sat up, rubbing his jaw where the boy's left hook had solidly _

_connected._

_"Baka," muttered the boy as he stood over Duo, who chuckled._

_"So, the Iceman speaketh," he said._

After that, all Duo had managed to get out of him was confirmation of his guess that the spandex-sporting boy was indeed the other Gundam's pilot._Well, thought Duo, smirking,__ that and the fact that he's antisocial, physically violent, and hardly speaks._

Now that he had fit this one piece into the enigma that had been bothering him ever since he had first seen the abandoned Gundam, his thoughts turned to the attractive markswoman who had joined the swirl of unanswered questions in his head._Just how does she fit into this? he wondered._

As if on cue, the door creaked open and the girl in question walked in.Duo tried to keep his mouth from dropping open, but failed miserably.He looked at the silent boy across from him and was pleased to notice that his eyebrows were raised and his eyes a bit wider than normal.Feeling better, Duo turned to gaze at the blue-eyed vision standing in the doorway.

Her skin fairly glowed, a slight pink from recent scrubbing flooding her lightly bronzed color.Her hair, freshly washed and slightly damp, reached slightly past her hips in waves of silky, light brown shot through with honey-colored streaks.Her shapely torso was covered in a black tank top, not unlike the one his silent companion wore, except hers, much to Duo's delight, was slightly tighter.Duo let his gaze fall to take in her cut-off blue jeanshorts, sneakers, and smooth, well-toned legs.

Ignoring the boys' lingering eyes, she strode over to the wall behind Heero's chair.Slightly to his right, she leaned against the wall and folded her arms across her chest.Her eyes wandered, taking in every detail of the room.

"Well, you sure clean up nicely," stated Duo before he could stop himself.Her blue eyes locked on his, and he could almost feel the fire behind her glare burn through him. Sweatdropping, he put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously._Just be glad she didn't pull as gun on you, Maxwell,he thought._

"Yeah… okay then.Well, let's get down to business," he announced, trying to returning to his normal cheery self.He turned to the moody boy sitting at the table."The Mobile Suit I pulled up is yours, correct?" asked Duo, although he already knew the answer. The boy glared and nodded."And Deathsycthe," he said, referring to his Gundam, "belongs to me."He shifted his eyes upward to look at the girl."So that would make neither of them yours," he said, grinning cynically.The girl merely looked at him."So," he continued, "I wanna know what in the hell made you think that you could blow up things that don't belong to you!"

At this point, Duo completely lost the control he had been trying to recover since she had walked in the room."I mean, is this some way you take out your aggressions or something?!Or did you just happen to walk by and think 'Oh, I bet it would be fun to blast those two Mobile Suits out of the water!'?Not to mention shooting some guy in the head!"The seated boy's eyes narrowed visibly."By the way, thanks for stopping him from shooting me.But geeze, what was running through that pretty little head of yours?Why?Just tell me why!" Duo paused to catch his breath as he looked expectantly at the her.

The girl, who had remained silent during Duo's ranting, looked unfazed."I had my orders," she stated simply.

"Arrgg!!!" Duo said, throwing up his hands in exasperation."What is it with you people!Don't you know how to say more than five words?!" he wondered aloud as he turned to the empty wall behind him.Regaining composure, he spun around to face the two annoyingly brief girl."You had your orders," he said suspiciously."Orders from who?The Alliance?OZ?"The girl's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't even suggest," she said, scorn flooding her voice, "that I am in any way affiliated with either of those organizations."

Duo's cobalt eyes widened._So she isn't an enemy, he thought.__Does that make her an ally?_

"Okay, if you're not with them, who are you working for?Or are you a private citizen who just happens to carry around a handgun and has an obsession for blowing things up?Although," Duo said, rambling on, "I'd have to doubt that, since your marksmanship is above average.Unless you meant to kill this guy and you missed your…"

Duo never finished his sentence.As soon as he had let the word "missed" roll off his tongue, the girl had whipped out a pistol she had hidden behind her back.Quick as lightning, she brought it level with the braided boy's head and let off a shot.Duo yelled and threw his arms over his face as the dark-haired pilot whirled and leapt to his feet, his own gun leveled at the girl, who merely smirked.

Duo stood frozen.Slowly, he dropped his arms and looked over to his right.There, about an inch from his head, was a small, neat hole in the wall.He turned to gape at his assailant.She simply returned the gun to its place behind her back.She glanced at Duo."I don't miss," she said evenly.The other boy kept his weapon trained on her as she returned to her spot against the wall.

"All right.Enough small talk.Who are you working for?" the boy said coldly.

She didn't flinch at the sight of the gun's muzzle aimed right between her eyes."Kill me if you wish.I do not fear death."She regarded him with empty eyes."Though the plot has thickened enough to keep me interested.

The boy seemed to struggle with his decision, but he slowly lowered his firearm.

Duo breathed an audible sigh of relief."Okay.I get the point.No smart-ass comments and don't doubt your shooting expertise.Got it."

He looked at her in a new light.It just blew his mind that someone who looked like the Cover Girl of his dreams could be so deadly.He smiled wryly as the other boy turned his back on her and sat down again._I gotta give him credit, thought Duo__.I know I__ wouldn't want to turn my back on psycho-chick._

He crossed his arms over his chest."You know, we all got off to a pretty bad start, what with the shooting and the torpedoes and all.I think we should start over."He grinned and held out his hand."My name's Duo.Duo Maxwell.Or if you prefer, you can call me the God of Death, hehe."Neither of the room's other occupants took his offered hand.Duo withdrew it, waiting.After a moment, he put his hands on his hips and said, "You know, it's customary that when someone tells you their name, you tell them yours," No answer."This is starting to get a little creepy.You guys are acting almost exactly alike.What, were you like separated at birth or something?"He stopped and bit his lip.Itwas more than a little unnerving to have both sets of frigid glares on him at the same time._So similar… definitely a little creepy.He brushed off his jitters."Tell me one thing," he asked, looking at the two."Why won't you tell me your names?"_

"It doesn't pertain to the mission," both replied in unison.Duo stared.

Heero spun to face the strange girl.She merely stared back, the barest hint of a smile playing over her lips.He had been more than a little caught off guard when he heard his response echoed word for word by her soft, yet firm, voice.He looked her directly in the eyes and, for the slightest moment, remembered.

_*~Heero walked through the hanger of Dr. J's laboratory.A stone-faced, attentive boy of eight years, he watched as the various engineers and technicians scrambled over the huge forms of the various Mobile Suits housed in the hanger. A flash of movement caught his eye and his gaze was drawn to a particular Leo MS._

_Sitting atop the suit's massive "shoulder" was a small figure clad in a black, skintight flight suit.Heero quickened his pace as the person moved down to the open cockpit hatch of the Leo.He stopped beneath the MS and looked up at the stranger.A black helmet covered the person's face, but through the tinted visor he thought he saw a flash of intensely blue eyes. ~*_

He didn't allow his shock to show.His mind raced._There's no way, he thought.__Dr. J told me it was a mechanic that was taking the suit for a routine test flight.Would he have lied…But if that was__ her, how and why is she here?.No, it can't be.But what she said, that response… the one I had been trained to say… how could she know?_

Heero looked again more carefully.Her face was composed and imperturbable, her eyes glacial and expressionless._Those eyes… he thought.__They're so cold, so emotionless, so… like mine, he realized._


	5. Silent Goodbyes

Broken Reflections by Angel Barton

**Broken Reflections by Angel Barton**

** **

**• Chapter Five:Silent Goodbyes •**

****

"Well, _that certainly was strange," muttered Duo. He had watched the silent exchange with rapt attention.__I wonder if they know each other, he thought.He tried not to smile as the two engaged in a clash of wills.The boy narrowed his eyes ominously, but the brunette didn't even bat an eyelash.He shook his head in amusement and stepped between the pair._

"All right, enough is enough," he said cautiously as he looked from one to the other, trying to figure out what had just happened.The boy shook himself out of his trance as the girl glanced up at Duo."What was that all about?" the braided boy asked aloud.The girl closed her eyes for a moment, then looked back at the two boys with her incredibly blue gaze."Do you have a computer available?" she asked, purpose evident in her tone.

Duo was disappointed to say the least.He had been hoping to find out her name, who she was, where she came from, whether she had a boyfriend… anything!_Oh well, I guess that'll have to do for now.He sighed."Yeah there's one down the hall…"_

Heero looked on silently as Duo filled the strange girl in the directions._Who is she? was the only thing he could think of.God, it was driving him crazy!Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier, baffled by a enigmatic young girl.The very thought made him frown.He glanced up at her as she turned and silently walked out the door.__Who indeed…_

• • •

Later that evening, as Duo and Heero argued in the hanger, the strange girl sat typing away at the computer terminal.Her face, eerily lit by the blushish white light from the screen, showed a hint of concern.She spoke quietly as she typed."Mission complete.Be advised: primary mission integritiy possibly breached.Have made contact with two pilots: Wing's pilot, Heero Yuy, and the pilot of a Gundam called Deathsycthe, a Duo Maxwell.Both suits damaged.Repairs necessary. Awaiting orders."

She sent the message and waited for the reply.She was the picture of tranquility, eyes closed, lost in thought…

A few minutes later, the screen flashed and she shook herself out of her musings.She read the words as they scrolled across the monitor. "Mission integrity intact.New orders as follow."She memorized her instructions and sent her response."Mission accepted."

• • •

Within the shadows of his cockpit, the pilot of the Gundam Heavyarms tightened his fingers around the trigger of his control stick and looked down as the barrel of his suit's massive machine gun spun empty.He flipped a switch and the gun slid off and crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust.The panels covering the suit's chest swung open in preparation for another hail of bullets, but it never came.The guns' empty chambers clicked as they spun, and the pilot closed the panels.

"He's out of bullets!" exclaimed a voice from within one of the OZ Aries MS surrounding the strange Gundam.

"Don't let your guard down," warned the troop's commander.Walker knew very well that even though their enemy's firepower had been depleted, he was still very much a threat.

But the brash young soldier paid no mind to his warning and roared away from the Specials defense line shouting, "I'll show you what the Specials are made of!"

"You fool!We can't afford a mistake at this point!" yelled Walker. He turned and watched in disbelief as the single Mobile Suit advanced on the target.

Trowa closed his eyes as he watched the Aries bear down upon him."That was fast," he muttered to himself."Surprise, surprise."His viewscreen darkened as the suit rose in front of him and prepared to strike.Suddenly, a hole appeared in the Aries' head as a bright light lanced through the suit and it exploded into a ball of fire and twisted metal.

Almost as if on cue, lines of advancing desert-colored opened fire on the unsuspecting Specials.Walker watched in horror as suit after suit burst into firey clouds as they were bombarded with the hail of gunfire.In a move both out of both desperation and revenge, he launched his suit into the air and ripped into this new threat with his own weapons."Come get me, you monsters!" he raged as he watched a white and black suit came towards him with surprising speed.Before he could retaliate, the suit's pilot clamped his machine's heat shorters around Walker's Mobile Suit."I wanted to find out what this thing could handle…"said Walker as he steeled himself for what was to come.

The blonde Arabian pilot leaned forward withing his cockpit as he whispered an remorseful "Sorry."His words were lost in the defening explosion that followed.

• • •

Duo shook his head in increduously as he walked towards the hanger door.Beyond it could be heard the clank of metal and the hiss of a blowtorch.He pushed open the steel door and peered into the cavernous room.There he was, standing by his Gundam, trying to accomplish the impossible._There's no way he's gonna be able to fix that thing.Parts are kind of a necessity when it comes to fixing something that's broken, unlike that girl with her leg…besides, it's 2:30 in the morning."Man, what the heck's he thinking?" he wondered aloud.He yawned loudly and turned away muttering, "I'm sacking it."_

The dark-haired boy continued his work without sparing a glance._I bet that braided baka never shuts that mouth of his.One of these days, someone's going to stick a barrel in it.He shook his head as he reached up to finish welding the broken paneling back onto Wing Gundam's frame.__You sure took a beating, Zero.If it hadn't been for that girl you would have…Heero's thoughts drifted off as he realized what he was saying.Even if that girl hadn't appeared, Zero would have ended up in this state or worse… by his hand._

His mind wandered back to his earlier confrontation with her.He remebered himself falling in a sort of stupor as he gazed into those pools of crystaline blue.He had yearned to find something hidded in their depths, some clue as to her identity, her purpose.All he had found, however, was a wall._She's well trained.But by who, and why?_

He tensed suddenly.Something nearby had triggered his well-honed senses.Without moving, he strained his ears.Nothing.No footsteps or tell-tale breathing to signify an unnoticed visitor.He turned to look into the shadows behind him, willing his eyes to pierce the inky blackness settled into the corners of the room._Shimatta… _

His eyes snapped to the far wall.Something had moved in the darkness.He raised his blowtorch and watched as its light reflected faintly from two points hidden in the shadows.Heero looked on as the figure partially stepped out from the gloom in acknowledgement to being spotted.He frowned as the girl's eyes danced in the flame's weak light, sparkling dots of brightness in a face that melted into the darkness at its edges.Her eyes met his and held him._What is she doing here? he thought dimly.___

Heero had no idea how long they stared at each other, unmoving.It could have been hours or merely seconds.Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she slowly closed her eyes as she turned and was swallowed once more by the impenetrable shadows. The breath that he had unknowingly held in when he first met her eyes came out in a whoosh.He shook his head and looked down."What the heck am I doing?" he whispered fiercely._I'm allowing her to distract me from my mission.Idiot!He tightened his grip on the torch's handle.__Never again, he promised himself.He looked back at the spot where she had disappeared, determination in his eyes.__Never again…_

From the darkness, Rei paused to watch the Japanese boy return to his task before slipping quietly into the night.

• • •

Sunlight glinted blindingly off the numerous MS crowded onto the airfield.On one side, forty desert-colored models backed the large white and black suit as it faced off against a very similar-looking suit.Silence hung in a thick blanket over the assembled machines, a drastic change from the raging battle that had ensued earlier.

It was broken by a hesitantly questioning voice from one of the brownish suits."Master Quatre…"

"I don't need any help," responded the small blonde in the white suit.

"It seems he's used up all his bullets," came the voice again.

A tight, worried smile forced itself onto Quatre's face."That pilot isn't relying on any sort of firearms."

From the back of the base came a sudden roar as a sleek jet launched itself into the sky.

The blonde boy looked to his side screen exclaiming, "There goes an OZ aircraft!"He realized his mistake as soon as he had made it.He gritted his teeth as he looked back to his foe and braced himself for the attack that was sure to come.

Trowa took the other pilot's moment of distraction to his advantage as he flipped the switch that swung out the blade on his suit's right forearm and charged the unprepared white suit.He grunted with the effort of manipulating Heavy Arms in the lightning-fast rush and swung the blade upward to hit his enemy's suit under its left arm.

Quatre reached out Sandrock's massive black hand to latch on to the other suit's shoulder as sparks showered from the damage that the other pilot had inflicted.He was caught off-guard as the suit slammed it's knee into his suit.In response, Quatre attempted to strike his enemy with Sandrock's fist, but it was caught within the iron grip of the other suit's hand.Suddenly, Quatre closed his eyes and smiled."This isn't right…" he whispered quietly.

Trowa looked on quietly as his enemy ceased his attempts of retaliation. 

"It's not.." said Quatre as he looked down.Abruptly, Sandrock's front hatch slid open and the small blonde pilot ran to the edge of the platform created by the doors.He spread his hands wide in a pleading gesture and, in a voice just as beseeching, said, "You and I shouldn't be fighting at each other!"

After a moment's pause, the hatch of the opposing suit opened.From the darkness of the cockpit emerged the machine's pilot, hands raised in a act of surrender.Quatre noted the impassive mask the young boy sported and smiled."Put your hands down.I was the first one to surrender and come out, remember?"

• • •

Rei gunned the engine of the black motorcycle and roared out of the shipyard, the rubber tires spitting a shower of gravel and dirt behind her.The cool night wind whipped her hair as it spilled out from beneath her helmet like banner and brushed in a furious whisper over her body as she sped towards the cliff road that rose steadily above the sea.

She smiled breifly in spite of herself.The look on the boy's face as he had stared at her was priceless.She had purposely allowed him to see her, for she knew that if she had not moved, he would probably have never found her._Even with all your training, she thought."Perfect Soldier__" indeed…_

_As the broken yellow lines of the black road were gobbled by her tires, Rei's mind raced just as quickly as the machine underneath her.Scenes of her past came and went in short-lived flashes, but for all their brevity, they were as clear as the moment they had occured.Her conscience was bombarded with images of wires, needles, and electrical equiptment and the feelings of far-off pain and fading madness.But those things were of the past, a past that she would never be able to outrun no matter how fast she went._

Rei slowed her suicidal pace and pulled the bike off to a heavily wooded section beside the road.She looked up with keen eyes into the deep shadows between the reaching branches of the trees and allowed a wolfish grin to touch her lips._Well Doctor, she thought__, it seems that your extra insurance hasn't lived up to it's standards.But don't worry, I won't betray your secret just yet.She paused as a small beam of moonlight caught a piece of cold black metal in its shimmering radiance.__Just remember, every lab rat has its breaking point…_

_ _

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ohayo minna!This is the first "author's note" that I've done, so please just bear with my rambling ^_^.So, what do you think?Do you like it so far?I know that I'm just a loser with too much free time, but I'm actually kind of proud of this story.Yes, it is a little slow at the beginning because it's basically a retelling of the first few episodes, but I'm trying to base the story line around the actual series as much as I can.And I appoligize for my lack of skill in writing about MS battles.This is a new thing for me.And for all of you Relena fans out there, don't get mad because Heero didn't meet her on the beach and because I haven't written about her yet.You never know, she could pop up at any time *wink*.

I'm so glad that I get to start writing more about Rei.She's kind of the mysterious stranger now, but she'll reveal her character more and as the story progresses, which is good for those of you who are wondering how she knew the exact phrase that Heero said (I at least hope that some of you are wondering ^_^)

Oh, and I have to give a special thanks to my one and only tomodachi, Dilly-chan.She's the one that's kept me going with her frantic "What happens now?!" and her occasional death threats if I'm late on turing out another chapter.Dilly-chan, thanks so much for supporting this totally crazy impulse of mine and for being there when I needed help.You're my muse and the bestest buddy out there, both in the real world and the crazy mixed-up world in our heads.Moecha!!!

Well, I think that about covers it, now that I've completely bored you to death.Please please PLEASE send me some responses concerning this story!I would really like some constructive criticism, imput, or opinions.Like it or hate it, I don't care, just please send me some feedback so I will know whether or not to continue this seemingly endless story.All comments and flames are welcomed and apprieciated!!!!!Thanks for taking the time to read this!Until my next little blurb, ja ne!!!!

~ Angel Barton ( [cheerzep03@aol.com][1] or [tsubasanokami1@aol.com][2] )

   [1]: mailto:cheerzep03@aol.com
   [2]: mailto:tsubasanokami1@aol.com



	6. Kaiho Suru no Hansha- Reflection of the...

A dark day…

A dark day… 

Only a week before it was unthinkable that anything could happen to such strong and seemingly invincible landmarks as the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.But on September 11, 2001, the nation watched as the heart of our country's military command burned and the Twin Towers of New York City crumbled and fell.I was stunned when I found out in my high school class that Tuesday morning that such a horrible event had occurred.All those innocents who were slaughtered in this senseless act of madness... and those who are left to grieve. It's beyond comprehension how a human being can become so sick and perverted that they could cause such mass murder without any thought of remorse. Right now I'm so torn between emotions that I can't even begin to describe the turmoil. Anger can come later...what is most important now is that we mourn the loss of our fellow Americans on this dark day. So close are we to that day of imfamy in 1941, but I fear that the casualties of this senseless act will far outnumber those of the past. It is important that we take a moment to reflect on those who have perished in this tragedy, the seen and unseen heros who rose up in a time of need, and their families who are suffering from their loss…

This is the time that America must unite together, all races and walks of life, and show both those who wish us evil and the entire world the strength of our resolve and work together to face this atrocity that has been committed against our great nation. America has always been the one nation to come forward in aid of almost every country's need, but in return we receive only criticism and scorn in times of peace and, at most, words of comfort and support in our times of hardship.But the one thing that has remained true thoughout all of hisory is that America has always managed to stand tall and proud after all of our trials.As our President said in his address to the American public, "These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

~ In memory of those who lost their lives on that dark day of 

September 11, 2001- We will remember

• **Chapter Six:**"Kaiho Suru no Hansha" –Reflection of the End •

Wufei's eyes glittered coldly as he looked at the low-slung builing in front of him._Weak fools… he thought without pity, and pressed the detonator switch in his hand._

Fire ripped through the quiet barracks of the Lake Victoria base.Those who were not incinerated by the blast itself only had time to scream out in terror and agony as the subsequent inferno tore down the halls and through the rooms.

In another of the bases buildings, Lieutenant Lucrezia Noin burst from her quarters into the dark hallway that was flashing with red emergenty becons."What is it?What's happnening?!" she shouted to a soldier running farther down the hall.

"We're under attack!" the man yelled, his voice straining with held-in fear."The pilot trainee dormatory has been hit the worst!"

Noin's blood ran cold._My pilots…"What?!" she screamed, voice tinged with horror._

She ran towards the decimated building.The only thought running through her head was why._Why would someone destroy a dorm full of young soldiers, defenseless and sleeping…Why couldn't they go after the suits?!Who could be so heartless?…_

_Noin tore through the barracks and finally found the main sleeping quarters.As she entered the room, she stopped dead in her tracks.The room was littered with rubble and the bodies of her trainees.She covered her hand with her mouth and hugged herself."This is terrible…" she murmured._

She heard a low groan and ran forward to lift the man's head.He looked at her with pain-stricken eyes as blood coursed down the side of his head and pooled beneath him."Instructor…" he stammered."I wanted to go into outer space—so badly…"He groaned again and slumped against her.She pulled his limp form close to her, her eyes filling with hot tears._Who could do something so horrible?… Those bastards will pay!she thought harshly.Her mind snapped back to its military training as she lifted her head, her eyes blazing._

She turned to the men who had run in behind her."Find the enemy and attack them at once!" she yelled."Destroy them all!We're expecting a Moblie Suit battle.Leos, lead the pack!The enemy should be close by."

Outside, a squad of Leos had already begun to search the base, spotlights and flares lighting the gloom.Noin hurred into the control tower.She turned to the soldier attending the radio."How's Lieutenant Zechs?" she asked, suddenly concerned for the blonde-haired man who had been visiting the base.

"The South hangar is safe," he responded, indicating the building where Zechs had been staying."Word is that he's heading here."

"Good," said Noin as she reached for the microphone that played over the bases loudspeakers."The enemy has come to destroy the Tarus Suits.Take your positions," she ordered."

The soldier swivled in his chair to address her."It'll take thirty minutes to load all the machines for transport," he reported.

"Okay, you've gotta hold off the enemy for thirty minutes," she said as she turned to the door."I'll take command of the Mobile Suit troops," and raced out of the room.

• • •

_Any time now, thought Colonel Lady Une.__The Vice-Foreign Minister will be dead and out of Trieze's way.Finally, he will be able to put his plan into motion…_

"Excuse me, um, miss, I think you forgot this, back in there."Une whirled around to see Darlian's young daughter standing in front of her, holding the disguised bomb that she had planted next to the conference room.She growled, not believing the girl's stupidity."You fool!" she yelled, and lunged for the "compact".She snatched it from the surprised girl's grasp, ran towards the building, and hurled it with all of her might towards the conference room window.

The room exploded in a fiery blast of plaster and shrapnel as screams of agony tore through the air.One of the attendants accompanying the Colonel had held onto Darlian's daughter during the explosion, sheilding her from the aftermath.Relena looked up over the soldier's arm and finally understood what had happened.She went pale as she whispered, "Oh God…Father!"She pushed past the soldier and ran towards the doors.

Une watched the girl's retreating back."That was close," she said, trying to regain her stressed nerves.She turned to the two men behind her."Go after the girl and eliminate her if she resists," she ordered coldly.The guards saluted her and headed back to the tower.

Relena couldn't believe what had just happened.She was still in a slight state of shock as she ran through the charred doorway of the conference room that her father had been in.She looked wide-eyed at the destruction and death that greeted her."Father!Where are you?!Father!" she yelled frantically.

"Re…lena…" came the weak reply, and the girl dashed towards the sound of her father's voice.She found him pinned beneath a slab of concrete and kneeled beside his desolate form."Father!Talk to me, Father!" she pleaded anxiously.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, a red-headed man kneeled down across from Relena and asked, "Is he alright?"Relena, taken aback by his sudden appearance, could only respond with "Huh?"The man ignored her slight response and looked back over his shoulder to three other men who had begun to search the ruined room."Well?" he inquired.

A man who held one of the councilmen's limp body looked back at him."I can't find any other survivors."

"Who are you people?" Relena asked in a quavering voice as she watched the man lift the chunk of stone off of her father.

He seemingly ignored her query as he gently slung the fallen man over his shoulder.He once again looked to the others as he said, "Okay, we'll carry Mr. Darlian out."

Relena started as she heard pounding footsteps in the outside hallway.Suddenly, the two soldiers who had been with that woman burst into the doorway, machine guns leveled before them."Stop right there!" one of them yelled."What are you doing?!"

The red-haired man snarled under his breath."Move!" he shouted, and grabbed Relena around her waist before the surprised girl could even protest.He ran for the door as one of his fellow rescuers provided cover fire with a machine gun of his own, pressing the soldiers down behind the doorframe.

Outside the room, one of the uniformed men spoke quickly into his radio."Someone's taken Dorlian's daughter and they're trying to escape!Lock all the exits!" he relayed as the group he spoke of dashed down another hall.

Moments later, Relena watched as the strangers carefully loaded her father into the back of an armored van.She tried to pull away from the burly man's grip on her wrists, but had no luck in breaking his hold."Let go of me!" she protested.

The man looked down at the frightened girl."You're going to have to come with us," he ordered gently."It's the only way you'll make it out of here alive."

His words had no visible effect on calming Relena."I don't care what happens to me.What are you going to do with my father?" she asked, tugging harder.

"Just do as we say for the time being, Miss," he said, shaking his head.He stiffened as he heard a chime sound behind him."Get in!" he shouted as the soldiers burst through the opening elevator door and released a spray of bullets.He dragged the girl into the van and slammed the doors as the van sped away in a cloud of exhaust and burning rubber.

• • •

Noin shook her head in disbelief at what she had just found out."He attacked the base on his own, but he only looks about 14."She couldn't believe that a kid that young could wreak so much havoc and destruction without aid._He's just a baby… Why would he want to kill so many defenseless soldiers?…Her senses snapped her back to reality and she stiffened as she saw movement below her."He's there."_

A flock of birds screamed up from the trees as a monstrous Mobile Suit of a type unlike any that Noin had ever seen rose from the foliage.She circles her Aries suit around to face her enemy.

As she flew, two of the base's soldiers had managed to catch up with her and were readying a gigantic beam cannon.The gun's aiming system locked onto the strange suit and one of the pilots shouted "Fire!"Noin watched as the cannon charged up, the inside of its barrel growing to a bright red."Don't shoot!" she yelled.The soldier jerked in surprise."Lieutenant Noin, why not?" he questioned over his loudspeaker.

Wufei grinned from within Shenglong's cockpit, knowing that his assumption had been proven right."Because she's a woman," he replied arrogantly, and turned his suit towards the two Aries.He slammed his thrusters on and blasted towards the two suits as he drew his machine's massive thermal-bladed staff from its place on its back.He mercilessly ripped it through the two unprepared crafts and braced himself against the firey explosion.

Noin watched horrified.Her hesitation was decimated as she flew towards the enemy.She fired a hail of bullet's from her suit's machine gun, screaming "Damn you!"Wufei shot Shenglong's dragon-headed arm towards the woman's Aries, striking a glancing blow to the bottom of her suit and sending her spinning out of control into the trees.__

• • •

_I must be crazy… thought Relena Darlian as she stood braced before the three men, a black gun leveled in front of her.__What am I doing?They were the ones who helped me escape… her face hardened as she remembered their refusal to take her wounded father to a hospital.They had let him die, they hadn't even tried to help.__Father… why did you have to tell me?Why couldn't you have kept it a secret and died with me believing that you were really my father?Why did you leave me without knowing anything about my real family except their name and reputation?Why did you have to die?…White-hot fury snapped in Relena's eyes as her thoughts turned to retribution._

"I'll get revenge for his death," she yelled at the men opposite her."It's OZ, right?OZ is responsible for the death of my father!"

"Don't be stupid!" yelled one of the men."You'll just end up getting killed.Can't you see it's suicide?"

Relena glared at him."I don't care if I am killed…"Her thoughts drifted back to her birthday party._I don't care… She saw her mother and father standing together.She remembered the look in his eyes as he told her that he would be leaving for space again, the sadness at the thought of ruining her fun.For some strange reason, she remembered the pictures of the strange object that she and her father had seen on their return to Earth.__What was it that father had said? she thought.__Some kind of operation…"Meteor…" she whispered aloud, not realizing that she had said it._

She heard heavy footsteps and a metallic clicking to her left.An old voice came from the shadows."Did you say Meteor?"Relena jerked her head in the direction of the voice.The men took this momentary distraction to their advantage and two of them lept forward to restrain the pistol-weilding girl.

A bent old man with long white hair and moustaches, small thick glasses, and a half-crazy smile stepped into the light.The clicking came from the metal braces he wore on each leg and the opening and closing of the "fingers" ofhis cold metal right arm."Are you talking about Operation Meteor?"At the girl's wide-eyed look, he began to chuckle.

• • •

Noin didn't know how long she had been unconscious.However, she knew that it couldn't have been more than a matter of minutes, for when she looked at her suit's veiwscreen, she saw the enemy suit hoisting the beam cannon into the air.

Noin immediately realized his intentions and frantically began to punch the buttons on the pannel in front of her, yelling "Move!"She grunted in frustration as she realized that her efforts were in vain."Aries!" she screamed, and slammed her hands down on the control board and bowed her head.

The white, blue, and red suit raised the end of the cannon towards the sky above the horizon and let loose a huge blast of energy.Noin watched helpless as the beam streaked across the inky blue sky and slammed into the small black object that Noin knew to be the transport ship for the new Tarus suits.The ship blew apart instantly, raining fire and debris to the ground below.

The suit's pilot threw the sparking, damaged cannon at its feet and turned to look at Noin's Aries."Are you listening, woman?Huh?" came the boy's hard, scornful voice.Noin looked up."You saw I was a kid and you underestimated me.You're a weak soldier.I don't fight bleeding hearts or women."The suit stood for a moment longer before blasting off over the treetops into the night.

Noin could only pound her hands upon the control panel."Damn it!" she said harshly._He's right… I shouldn't have underestimated him.How could I have made such a stupid mistake?!She screamed her frustration as her Aries sat motionless in the trees, smoke still seeping from its ruined form._

• • •

The old man glanced at the girl sitting beside him in the black sedan."Please feel free to call me Dr. J, young lady."He grinned, lifting his mechanical arm slightly, and said, "Believe it or not, I'm a scientist."

Relena looked at the man."Dr. J… you know what that thing was don't you?That entry pod that looked like a shooting star… the one that shot at the shuttle I was on?"

Dr. J smiled slightly."So, he shot at a civilian craft, did he?I appologize for the attack, but you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.That boy doesn't like anyone or anything to interfere with his missions."He began to chuckle as though the idea was some kind of joke.

"Boy?" Relena questioned."A boy was piloting that thing?"

The aging scientist turned to look at her."Yes, a young boy, about your age.His name is Heero, Heero Yuy.Or at least that's his code name anyway."The girl looked surprised and echoed, "Code name?" 

At seeing the slight apprehension in her eyes, Dr. J wondered why he had even told this girl anything in the first place._Maybe I'm going soft, maybe even a bit senile in my old age… but for some reason I think I should tell her.Someone should know what's been done to him __at least.Besides, she's the daughter of the Peacecrafts.I have a feeling that she is going to have a more important role in all of this than she realizes…He shook himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to the other passenger."I take it that even you know of the straining tensions between the colonies and the Earth Sphere.There's a great war looming on the horizon, and I have been preparing for that battle for quite some time.You see, ever since Heero was very young, we taught him a wide range of battle strategies.We brought him up as a professional assasin."_

Relena's eyes widened at his words."What?Why would you do something like that?" she asked, horrified.

"Don't you see?" replied the man."For the peace of the colonies, of course."

"Peace?" she asked, not quite comprehending the train of logic that the scientist was following."How can an all-out war possibly lead us to peace?"

Dr. J frowned slightly at her."It leads directly to peace.Wars are started by people, and they end with people.Heero is ordered to attack only the dangerous, evil people responsible for starting wars."

The girl's brows drew together in uncertainty."But there must be more peaceful solutions," she protested.

"For a long time, we thought so too," said the Doctor quietly.Relena listened as he told her about the start of the colonies and the struggle it took to create them.When he mentioned the assasination of the colonies' leader, Heero Yuy, which to whom he accredited the young pilot's name, and the fact that the OZ organization was responsible for the killing, Relena sat up straighter."OZ…" she said in recognition.

Dr. J picked up on her tone and asked, "Do you know OZ?"

The girl lowered her head and said quietly, "Yes, it was the last thing Father told me.'Beware of OZ'."She remained silent for a moment, then looked back to the scientist."So who are you making Heero fight against," she asked.

"All of OZ," he said."We must stop them before they fullfil their ambition to take over the United Alliance Millitary and dictate the Earth Sphere."

The girl was shocked."But why does Heero have to take on that enormous task?Why should he be responsible for doing that all by himself?" inquired Relena.

Dr. J looked unabashed."We have no choice.He understands the emotional pains that the colony residents have been forced to endure over the years.Anyways, he's not the only one fighting this battle.There are four that have come from the other colonies that will be fighting the same battle.Maybe they will even learn to work together." 

"But still!" protested the girl.

The man held up his hand."But nothing," he said as he looked at her."Heero is strong.We've trained him to be.The others are too, most likely.Besides…" He paused slightly as a strange expression settled over his face. "The weight of the war does not even rest on their shoulders." At Relena's confused look, he smiled surreptitiously."Heero was made from a broken mold. A mold that, left as it is, will not only carry the burden of the war, but destroy it as well. He is not the person he thinks he is. He is simply a reflection of deliverance."

Relena was about to ask what his enigmatic and cryptic response meant, but it was then that the car pulled to a stop outside of a large, brightly-lit tower.Relena opened the door and stepped outside.She shut the door as the darkly tinted window rolled down.Dr. J peered out at her and said, "They should be able to return you safely to Earth from here."

The girl paused and looked steadily at him."One more thing.May I ask you why you saved my life, Dr. J?Is it because of my father, because I'm Darlian's daughter?"

The man looked a little taken aback."Not at all.It's because you had that same look in your eyes as…," he paused again, but continued quickly."As Heero did.That same genuine expression.Heero is actually a kind-hearted young boy.It's too bad that not all mirrors can be made the same way…" He trailed off and appeared to be lost in his own thoughts.

Relena once again almost asked for an explaination, but she bit her tongue._Maybe it's something that he doesn't want to talk about.It was just as well that she did not ask, for the scientist's demeanor changed as quickly as it had before.His eyes were colder as he looked back up at her."But Heero is very dedicated to his mission.Stay away from him if you value you life."Without another word, the window was rolled up and the car sped away, leaving the girl standing alone, bathed in the building's yellow light._

• • •

Wufei walked wordlessly through the darkness on the African savannah.He saw the pack of heyenas stalking him in the tall grass along the fringes of his vision, but he neither worried nor cared.His mind was focused on other things._Why did it have to be a woman__?He spat the word in his mind much as one would utter a curse.__Of all the men stationed at that base, why send a woman?Women are weak, pathetic creatures who depend entirely on the protection of men.They can't even put up a decent fight… I've only met one woman who has… He felt a pang of sorrow deep in his heart, but pushed it aside with his anger. He realized that he had stopped walking and the hair-raising laughs of the heyenas were much closer._

He looked up and focused his eyes on the circle of ungainly-looking creatures surrounding him.Red rage blurred his vision.How dare such pathetic beasts challenge _him, the heir of the Dragon Clan?!Heated emotion took over as he let loose some of his pent-up anger."Get out of my sight you weaklings!" he screamed.The animals, caught off-guard by his outburst, gazed warily at the boy before them before they turned tail and ran off into the night. _

Wufei, fists clenched by his sides, closed his eyes and bowed his head."Fighting a weak enemy leaves me feeling so empty inside," he said to no one in particular.He punctuated his frustrations as he threw back his head and unleashed a throaty scream to the heavens.He held his position for a few moments before he dropped his head down, eyes closed once again.Breathing heavily, he struggled to regain the warrior calm that lay within him.But no matter how he tried to reach it, his still-smoldering anger ripped it from his grasp.

Grunting in frustration, he opened his eyes and looked out over the waves of rippling grass.The wind whipped the long shoots in a furious whirlwind, seemingly reflecting the raging turmoil inside of him.Suddenly, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he had the keen sensation of being watched.He whirled around to look behind him and stiffened as he took in the shadowy details of the figure before him.The moon had since moved behind a bank of clouds, so he had to content himself with a phantom for the time being.The first thing that occurred to him was that the person was a woman, which caused his momentarily forgotten rage to flare.He knew that it was not the same pilot as before, but it made no difference to him.

By the time Wufei had gotten over his initial blind rage the moon had cleared it's dark veil, once again bathing the grasslands in it's ghostly light, and he was able to make out the person's features quite easily.The woman was actually no more than a girl, probably around his age, with long brownish hair that the wind whipped around her in a frenzy.She was clad in a dark tank top and jean shorts that fitted her figure and revealed her strong, athletic build.His gaze moved back up to settle on her face.Strands of goldish hair, borne aloft by the strong wind, played over her features as he took in her smooth bronzed skin, a stubborn nose and chin, and a strong, full mouth.But what seemed to commanded his attention were her eyes.It was not their fierce blue color, nor the fact that they were extremely beautiful, that held his gaze.Rather it was their strange emptiness, their lack of life; an icy cold that lay within their depths.

If he had been himself, he would have also noticed the slight glint of danger that flashed through them, but he was too filled with anger and slowly building desire to register it.What he did notice, however, was the brief mocking smirk that played over her lips.The ember of anger that still lingered within him roared to a raging inferno at this display of disrespect._This woman__ dare mock me?Woman or not, no one insults me and comes out of it unscathed! _

He balled his hands into tight fists as he began to stalk towards the girl."You shall pay for your insolence.You have no idea who you have just insulted."Once again, the uncontrollable red rage that rarely surfaced blazed in his black eyes.The fact that the girl stood there, an impassive, unintimidated look on her face infuriated him all the more."Women should not display such disrespect for men, they should be frail, trembling creatures in a man's shadow!" Wufei raged.He came to a halt about four feet from where she had stood, unmoved by his insults.Looking her over once more, he decided on his course of action."I usually don't concern myself with weaklings, but you've pushed me a little too far," he said decisively and suddenly lashed out with his right fist to her unprotected torso.

"Nani…?"

For a split second he was surprised when his fist met with empty air, then he felt sudden a sharp pain in crook of his arm as the girl blocked his strike and spun around him to deliver a savage blow to the back of his neck with her elbow.Wufei's knee hit the ground as he staggered forward with a grunt of pain.He regained his footing and whirled around to face his opponent; wild fury, slight disbelief, and a trace of worry flooding his features.The girl, eyes empty, stood calmly in front of him.Letting a furious roar tear its way from his throat, he launched himself once again at his opponent, who met his attack head on.

The two fought the battle blow by blow, each trying to find an opening in his or her adversary's defense.As sweat began to pour down his body, Wufei tried to come to grips with what was happening.

_I underestimated her.Why shouldn't I have?She's a woman__! There's no way that this should be happening!She should have crumpled like wet ricepaper under my first punch! his mind raged.__I am Chang Wufei, heir to the Dragon Clan, the best fighter the family has had in fifty years, and this… girl__ is still standing!_

Pure outrage took over and Wufei's attacks came faster, harder, and wilder.Suddenly, as he threw a violent kick towards her head, she caught his ankle in her strong grip and rammed the heel of her other hand under his unprotected chin.The blow lifted the boy off the ground and he slammed into the dirt in a cloud of dust.As he lay dazed on his back, the girl gazed down at him, eyes as lifeless as ever.Her face abruptly disappeared from his view and he struggled to his knees. 

His head reeled as he watched the girl move away from him.He tensed as she stopped, expecting another attack, but she merely turned to look back at him over her shoulder.The wind blew wisps of hair over and around her face as she locked eyes with him and quietly said, "Itsuka aerusa omae ga sagashite iru yume ni."Without another word she turned and began to walk into the night.Wufei stared after her retreating back, her words running through his head._We'll meet again sometime in the dreams you are searching for…_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ohayo!I'm back once again.I first of all want to apologize for how late this chapter was.My dad got a command (he's in the Army) in Georgia, so we had to pack up everything and move from Kansas back down to the good old South.After physically getting here came all the boxes and unpacking and getting ready for school and cheerleading practice and… well, I won't bug you with _all the details, but you get the picture.But I tried to make it up to you by making it a very looong chapter (even though most of it is basically what happens in Episodes 4 and 5.Sorry for all of the retelling!I'm trying to stick to as much of the story line as possible at this point!!!) *bows* Once again, gomen nasai, minna-san!_

Secondly, I'd like to make one simple request:PLEASE REVIEW!Onegai, I'd really like it if you did.It seems like I haven't gotten as much response from this as I thought I would, so I don't know if I should even keep this going or not.If you'd like me to keep writing, tell me!!If not then I guess I'll let this fic sink into oblivion.So review… onegai… *wimper*.

I'd also like to take part of my "special author time"*yay* to respond to one of my reviews.I was told that I seemed as if I had described Rei like Relena.I would like to thank that reviewer for actually taking in enough of the story (yeah, I know some of you just skim over it to see if it's good… *creepy echo voice* _I know all!..) to realize the similarities.Unfortunatly, it was not my intentent to have them look alike.I'm working on a character sketch of Rei that I'm hoping I can somehow __post on FanFiction.net (If anyone knows how, please tell me!!!!) so people can get an idea of what she looks like.I don't know, maybe I did describe her like Relena, but she looks completely different in my mixed-up head, lol._

Once again, another short note to my buddy Dilly/Hilde/Kotori-chan.Well Buri-chan, I guess we're gonna have to do the editing thing long-distance.No more going over my story instead of doing classwork in Mrs. Schukman's American Authors/Expos class L.Unless you print it out and take it with you *evil giggle*.Don't worry tomodachi, I'll be coming back as soon as I can!

Oh, I should probably add a disclaimer in here, since I seem to have *ahem* forgotten to do so earlier, lol.*Disclaimer*:I do not own Gundam Wing or any of it's affiliated characters.They were created and are owned by people with powers much greater than myself.I am in no means trying to steal any part of the creator's ideas.The only thing that I can lay claim to in this story is the one character that I created, and well, she kinda belongs to herself (she can be pretty scary sometimes! lol). I am merely trying to write a crappy little fanfic about a show that I love and would like to hope that I am inspiring others who have not seen the series to do so.So please please please don't sue me!!!I have no money!Nada, zip, zero.Well, I think that should about take care of it!

One final word:I appologize for all the jumping around that this story does from event to event and place to place, but I'm trying to fit everything together in as much of a comprehensible way as possible.Also, if some things didn't happen at the exact times that they did in the show, I appologize as well.But hey, this is a fanfic and I'm the author…so I guess I have unlimited power!!!Bwahahahha!!!!!Err… gomen nasai, my little remaining sanity escaped me for a moment.Anyways, I know I'm boring you by now, so I guess that about wraps it up.Until next time, ja ne!


	7. Thunder and Lightning

• **Chapter Seven:  Thunder and Lightning **• 

                AN: parts in ~ ~ are Rei's orders,  are Rei's transmitted typed messages.  And just to drop a little hint here: I LIKE REVIEWS!!!  The more I get, the faster I seem to write.  So please be a good little reader and review/comment/critique/flame/ect.   Happy reading, ja ne!

                                ~Angel Barton

Bright pinpricks of light dotted the inky purple darkness of the night sky, flickering in and out of sight as clouds rolled past overhead.  Rei watched, fingers laced behind her head as she lay face up on a curving field of impenetrable blackness.  Her face was rock-smooth, her eyes revealing not even the faintest glimmer of interest.  But inside, her mind was filled with the swirl of cogitation.  _So different from the colonies… the stars…the wind…even the smell of the dirt and grass… and it's all real.  Not some illusion-filled tapestry draped over the senses of the colonists…all of it's real.  _

                She was mildly amused as a part of her own mind denounced her musings.  It screamed at her in a cold, harsh voice that she was a mindless machine created by man, a being produced to serve the greater good, and therefore was incapable of such wandering thoughts.  She listened absently to the subconscious ravings even as she questioned the accuracy of its words.  __

_                True, I was created by others, but I was still born as a normal human child.  And true, I was made to be nothing more than unfeeling killing machine, but it seems that my programing has begun to malfunction a bit.  _Rei allowed a glimmer of a devilish smirk to cross her face.  _It still doesn't feel right to show emotions.  I guess that's something I'll never completely rid myself of, is it? _she asked of the darkness above her.  She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what people would say if they could hear her mental debate.  _They'd think I was insane, arguing with myself and questioning the truth of my existence.  I dare to venture that I'm in all probability the most sane that any person in my position would be.  Even the most minimal shadow of what I've been subject to would probably drive any normal being to violent suicide, or at the least a mental institution.  _

                Her drifting contemplations suddenly turned to a more serious note.  _I barely survived.  So many times, I was so close… They thought that I wasn't going to endure their little program, they practically _knew _that it was impossible to make it through.  They even went as far as to train a back up… to a much less extreme extent, of course,_ she thought derisively.  _But for all their preparation, precautions, and calculations, I proved them wrong… the first of my victories against them.  I'm still working on the second…_

                She trailed off as a electronic beep hailed her return back to the world of the living.  Without sitting up, she pushed herself over the curving drop of her perch, spinning around as she fell, to find a handhold in the almost seamless black surface and smoothly swing herself into a darkened alcove.  She pressed a faintly flashing switch and read quickly over the words that scrolled themselves across the darkened screen. ~ _The weather has shifted.  Lightning is coming.  Thunder should follow.  -__Mission__. ~ _

                Reisettled herself into her seat, watching the star-speckled night sky being eclipsed by a lowering field of even deeper blackness.  She skillfully flipped through a series of switches in a programmed manner as her former demeanor dropped away into a recessed corner of her mind, resolving herself into a state of thoughtless, emotionless emptiness.  _Duty calls…_ she thought briefly, _and I will answer…for now.  _Then, she was gone.

• • •

Almost halfway around the world, another figure lay sprawled in much the same way that Rei had been, except this time the stars were reflected in twin pools of cobalt blue.  Duo gazed up at the white shining orb of the moon.  It surprised him that its crater-pocked surface looked so much more different from the Earth rather than through the thick glass of the colony windows.  _In space, the moon was just another place to go, another natural beauty for mankind to ruin.  From here though… it looks so peacefully, so serene, like it's never been dirtied by human hands. _

He paused to take in its beauty as his mind turned to other matters.  His dark-haired "guest" had left earlier that morning.  It had been more than a bit of a surprise to see the other boy blast off in a suit that had been anything but a quick fix and Duo had gone as far as to compliment his feat—_that is until I found out that Prussian-eyed bastard stole parts from my suit to fix it! _he thought vehemently.  _Well, I can't say that I really blame him.  I would have done the same thing if I had been in his situation, _he thought, grinning idiotically.  _I wonder where that guy ran off to.  He sure seemed to be in a hurry.  Probably had a mission or something…  _

The word "mission" brought the previous night's strange conversation in the lounge flooding back into his head.  _That was _definitly_ weird.  There's some kind of connection between those two.  I'd bet my life that Mr. Anti-Social doesn't have a clue what it is, but I'm pretty sure that _she_ does…_

His face turned pensive as an image of the exotic blue-eyed beauty filled his mind.  _She's definitly something.  And she's not just one of those airhead bimbos.  She's got some brains… probably a lot more than I'm giving her credit for.  It just makes me wonder… what the hell is a girl like her doing in the middle of this, and where the hell did she have to go in such a hurry?  _He hadn't expected to wake up to find the strange girl missing from the room he had shown her to._  It didn't even look like she had set a foot in there.  Nothing was disturbed… she must have left some time during the night.  _He smiled and stretched out lazily on the tarp-covered crate.  _It's too bad, _he thought_, I would have liked to have had a little bit of time to get to know her.  Well, without that stupid gun and all of course…_

His pleasant reveries screeched to a halt as he heard his name called by an all too familiar voice.  He groaned and sat up, a scowl darkening his face at being interrupted.  "What is it, Howard?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.  

Howard grinned, recognizing the tone of the pilot's voice.  "Did I butt in on one of your nice little daydreams again?  Who's the lucky girl this time?" he asked, wanting to have some fun with the young boy's temper.  At Duo's glare, he added, "Bet it's that long-legged vixen from before that had you drooling all over yourself."  He chuckled lightly as the braided boy crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out.  Howard waited patiently for what he knew was coming.  

Duo's expression changed to one of slight embarrassment.  "Was it really that obvious?" he asked, turning a bright shade of crimson.  

Howard shook his head in amusement and replied, "Well, let's just say that you could have been a little more subtle about it.  Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that Deathsycthe is as good as new and ready to go whenever you are."  

"Thanks, Howard," answered Duo as the older man turned to head back below deck.  The pilot sighed heavily and flopped down once again to look up at the bright pinpoints of light.  _He's right, I couldn't get her off my mind… I wonder if she even noticed the way I was acting.  _As he lost himself in thought, he was unable to take his eyes off the endless sea of blackness stretched above him.  _I wonder if she's ever seen space?  Does she know what it's like out there?  To live on the colonies for your entire childhood, an orphan in the middle of the universe, and now have to give your life to fighting to save the only home that you've ever known?… I seriously doubt it…_

• • •

Zechs Merquise stared darkly out the window of the OZ jet cruising low over Central Asia, lost in his own world.  _This new enemy is cunning. They're not afraid to go after targets that many of us thought to be unobtainable… these audacioius moves are making them a very viable threat to our plans.  Treize doesn't seem to be as worried as he should be.  He must have something up his sleeve, something that he believes will give him the upper hand against this new menace.  I can only begin to wonder…_

He had little time to ponder his superior's possible plans as his pale blue gaze locked onto a faintly flashing red light hanging in the blackness below.  "What the..?" he muttered, his eyes narrowing.  "Otto," he called, raising his voice enough to be heard by the cockpit's crew.  "Are the radar detectors picking up anything?"  After a brief pause, he was rewarded with "No, Lieutenant Zechs, there's nothing reading on the screen."

Zechs stood, a serious air overtaking his figure.  "Otto, prepare for deployment of my Leo," he ordered, turning on his heel to head for the cargo hold.  

"But Lieutenant, why?  There's nothing out there…" He trailed off as the blonde man placed a hand on the door frame and looked back over his shoulder, a tight smile forming on his face.  "We have company."

Rei switched off her visual beacon as she watched the blonde uniformed man move out of the view of the window.  _So that's the imfamous Lightning Count… _she thought passively.  _Hopefully he can live up to his reputation and provide me with at least a little bit of a challenge._  She manuevered her craft to the earth as the OZ jet deposited a Mobile Suit into the air.  _It seems that intelligence was right about him preferring to use Leos in battle.  He sure managed to find a quick replacement for that one he used to take down Heero.  _The greenish suit, aided by anti-gravity thrusters, slowly descended to land heavily on the packed dirt and let its red energy sword blaze to life.  

Zechs regarded the suit in front of him.  _This is a new one… or as much as I can tell from what I have to work with…  _He squinted his eyes in a vain attempt to make out the shape of his enemy's craft.  _That thing seems to be blending right into the night, almost  like it's absorbing the darkness.  _He dropped his gaze to the readouts on his control pannel.  _The night vision isn't picking up anything… neither is the thermoscanner.  The readouts must be distorted… there's no  cloaking system that good…  _He mentally shuddered, losing a bit of his composure, as he realized that he and the rest of the world had no idea what kind of technology these new models had.  _Hmm, I wonder though… none of the other suits were reported to have been this advanced, at least in cloaking.  The one that attacked the factory was better than average, but this is far beyond that level… _

He frowed as a hailing call resounded in his cockpit.  He pushed the frequency switch and opened his communications channels, waiting for the first words from this mysterious opponent.  He was more than a little surprised when a string of letters began scrolling across his screen.  _Interesting…_ he thought as he began to read, eyes flashing quickly back and forth…

At last I meet the imfamous Lightning Baron.  Tell me, in which do you find the most trepidation, the flash of lightning, or the crash of thunder?  I know which one people fear more…

_This is not what I expected, _Zechs thought uneasily.  _He's either very smart or very crazy.  _He opened his audio communications channel to respond.  _I might as well play along for now…_ "If I am to fear either, then lightning.  It is the one that destroys," he intoned in a firm, deep voice, tone keeping from betraying his anxiety.  He was shocked as he realized that it was a futile effort as soon as he read the enemy's reply.

Nervous, Millardo?  You should be.  You are human, and humans fear thunder…

The blonde pilot growled under his breath.  _How does he know that name?! _he wondered briefly before countering with an anger-tainted "And why is that?"

He waited for several long moments for the voiceless response that was sure to follow before four words flashed across his screen…  

They fear the unseen

Zechs grunted as he was suddenly tossed to the side as an enormous force collided with him.  Cursing under his breath at his inattentiveness, he struggled to right himself as his enemy backed off his attack.  He managed to regain his footing and anxiously sought to locate his attacker.  As he turned back and forth, a mix of emotions churned in his mind.  Embarrassment at being caught off guard mixed with unease and his love for a good fight.  Antipathy, however, was paramount.  Resentment at being referred to as one of the simple-minded masses burned bright behind his ice-blue irises, causing him to lose his grip on his ingrained cool-headedness.  "So if I am human," he spat at his unseen enemy, "What are you?  A god?"  He caught a small flash of movement from his right and moved to launch his own attack with his beam saber at almost super-human speed.  As he connected with empty air, he thought fleetingly that his insinuation of his enemy's divinity had been correct.  _No human can be that fast…_  As the mysterious suit seemed to dance away into the darkness, his question was again answered without speech.  My soul isn't near as virtuous. 

He snorted in distain.  _Who said anything about gods being virtuous?_ he thought offhandedly.  He blinked as the suit seemed to almost materialize in front of him out of thin air.  _Although it appears that he has some sense of fairness_ _after all_.  He sprang forward at this new opportunity for attack and this time, he connected with an energy sword that blazed a ghostly silver-flecked black.  "Bloodstains are often the source of such corrupt souls," he countered as he attempted to spin away, but caught the brunt of his foe's following attack across the chest of his Leo.  The dark suit seemed to almost imperceptively draw back from the confrontation for a moment, before attacking Zechs again.  I have blood on my hands, yes, but so much more than that… replied his enemy.  Then, so quiet that he almost missed hearing it, "…so much more…"

Zechs jerked in surprise at the sound of a human voice coming over his com system.  He wasn't able to determine the gender of the speaker, but the simple utterance was enough to put his creeping suspicions of fighting a ghost to rest.   

As her opponent was overcome with this new development, a red light blinked insistantly inside Rei's cockpit.  She turned and pressed the flashing button to acknowledge the incoming message:  

~ _They are coming for the peacekeeper.  The school is about to burn. –Mission ~_

Rei froze as her mind flashed rapidlythrough her years of torment:

                * _Screams, so many screams… the fire burning, gorging on the building fueling its _

_                devastation.  No choice;  keep attacking, keep destroying, keep killing… orange and_

_yellow flames licking the blue sky like demon tongues, black smoke curling in malicious_

_ghostly smiles… don't yell, don't show anything… and whatever you do, don't cry…_

_please God, don't let me cry…*_

                She was torn from the horrible memory as the Lightning Count landed a hard blow to the right side of her suit.  She quickly pulled back, switching on her thermal jets, and took to the air. 

                Zechs was about to charge once again, his confidence raised by his lucky hit, when words once again flashed on his screen.  

Our fight is not over, but you should leave now.  Something precious to you is about to die at the extended hands of your superior.

Zechs was puzzled by the cryptic message, but let out a gasp of shock when he made sense of the coordinates that accompanied the transmission.  He stared in bewildered wonder at his foe.  _What kind of enemy would tell me this?  Why?  _As if the fighter had read his mind, another message flowed across his field of vision.

Don't wonder why, just go save your princess.  We'll meet again.  

With that final word, the dark suit blasted away into the night, leaving Zechs to stare after it, unmoving.  With the communications channel still open, Zechs quietly replied, "I rarely say it, but thank you…"

• • •__

                ~_The peacekeeper lives.  __Mission__ completed.  Await further instructions.~_

                Flipping off the screen with a passive look on her face, Rei climbed easily out of her cockpit and swung herself around to the right shoulder of her suit and resumed welding the the tear in her suit's gundanium armor.  Small though it was, it would attest to be a weak spot in battle that could prove her undoing.  _Or at least that's what those bastard scientists drilled into me over and over._

Rei froze suddenly and cocked her head to the side.  Reaching out with the full extent of her senses, her ears straining in the darkness, she caught snatches of muffled voices, music, and what sounded like an elephant trumpeting.   _A circus, _she thought, _and here of all places.  _She paused to brush an errant strand of honey-tinged hair out of her eyes.  After a moment, she smiled slightly.  _I guess there's a first time for everything… _

                After an hour of steady walking, Rei finally came to the source of the commotion.  Bright lights illuminated the large forest clearing in their white hot radiance, disturbing the quiet blackness of night.  Moving like molten steel through the gloom on the fringes of the glen, she allowed her ingrained training to take over as she scrutinized the the festival's layout, committing possible escape routes and defense areas to her lazer-sharp memory.  Her eyes flashed imperceptibly in the velvet darkness as she crept closer to the main tent, watching hapless circus-goers file eagerly into the vast folds of cloth.  

She waited till the flow of people had almost dissipated to make her move, sliding silently into the concealing shadows beside the too-small cage of a very mean-spirited lion.  The giant feline growled deep in his throat, flashing warning glimpses of finger-sized canines in her direction.  Rei merely shifted her gaze from the tent's opened flaps to look straight into the lion's amber eyes, holding him frozen before he quieted his rumblings and meekly slid to the floor of his cage.  The girl reached fearlessly through the solid cage bars and tangled her fingers into the thick mane, scratching behind the big cat's ears as the tawny eyes close in contentment. 

Rei withdrew her hand and turned back towards the brightly colored tent.  After a moment, she slipped unnoticed under one of the small openings along the base of the temporary shelter.  As she entered the tent, she quickly rolled along the dirt floor to press herself between two crates as several circus hands passed noisily by her concealed form._  Careless fools, she thought offhandedly.__  Their own deaths could be breathing down their necks and they would never know.  She stole stealthily through wooden boxes and cold-barred prisons until she reached the rear of the grandstands that surrounded the circus' three main rings.  Here, the music swelled to a roar and the laughs and gasps from the crowd rumbled in accompanying undertones._

Looking up through the forest of support beams and wooden slats, she saw a gap in the top row that was not blocked by feet.  She hoisted herself up over the lowest bar and rapidly made her way upwards.  In a matter of seconds, she found herself at the top of the stands and slipped through the slim opening.  As she crouched low within the shadows, her eyes roamed over the spectacle layed out before her.

The entire ring seemed to be moving in the largest display of organized chaos that the girl had ever seen.  Her training quickly allowed her to pick out the ringmaster, not only by his characteristic red coat and tails, but by his conduct.  With her trained eye, she was able to notice imperceptible glances and implied commands that could come only from a master emersed in his element.  She watched as he motioned for the individuals in the ring to exit to the outer wings and then stepped forward, arms raised to address the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began.  "Thank you for coming tonight.  We hope to have entertained you well beyond your expectations.  And for our main event: a gravity-defying feat of balance and bravery, performed 150 above the ground without the safety of the net.  And now, it is my pleasure to present to you, the master of the highwire, our own young daredevil, Trowa Barton!"

With a dramatic flourish, he drew the audience's eyes, including a pair of dramatic blue orbs, to the top of the tent.  There, perched precariously on the edge of the small platform, was a young boy no older than 16, clad in voluminous green pants held on his slim hips by a pair of suspenders, a blue and white shirt, yellow gloves, and a smiling clown mask that hid half of his face.  Despite the boy's clownish appearance, Rei could see that the painted red grin of the mask was the like of something that had never touched its wearer's face.  The boy was no ordinary circus performer.  Rei noted his well-controlled stance and unnatural grace as he stepped from the platform to the thin wire, a cat-like demeanor that was a signature of extensive training.  She watched, her critical eye picking out the smallest movements and corrections made by the young acrobat.

                Trowa, for his part, was oblivious of the scrutiny.  In a sense, he was almost bored with the ease of his so-called "feat", but carried on the act as if he was not the expert gymnast he truly was.  He began to glance around the tent, taking in the bright, delighted faces of young children, the gaping disbelief of their elders, and mixed reactions from everyone in between.  For some strange reason, his green gaze was drawn to the upper levels of the stands, though they stood devoid of any occupation by audience members.  Suddenly, he focused in on a crouched form in the topmost rows, and his eyes locked on a pair of piercing blue lights set in the face of a shadowed young woman.  In a flurry of mental flashes, an image from his past came into sharp focus and a surprised gasp escaped his lips.  So great was his shock that he lost his balance on the slim wire and nearly plunged to the ground below, but saved himself by snatching the line at the last second.  When he had regained his wits, he looked quickly back to the darkened upper stands, but could find no trace of the girl.  
  



End file.
